Mappila dialect of Malayalam
Encyclopedia
The Malayalam language spoken mostly by Mappila
Muslim community of Kerala state, India
is called Mappila dialect of Malayalam or simply as Mappila Malayalam (Malayalam script
: മാപ്പിള മലയാളം). This speech is a mixture of colloquial northern Kerala dialects of Malayalam and the Arabic language.
Often, the Malayalee Muslim community of Malaysia and Singapore
and few of them in Kerala write Malayalam using Arabic Script.
The dialect is extensively spoken by Muslims in the North Malabar
region of Kerala i.e. in the districts of Malappuram
, Kozhikode
, Palghat, Wayanad, Trichur, Kannur
and Kasaragod
. The Malayalam spoken by Mappila Muslim shows deep influence of the Arabic language. Thus the dialect is a little bit different from the mainstream Malayalam. Also, Muslim communities of Dakshina Kannada
district of Karnataka
called Beary
s also speak Mappila Malayalam.
It should also be noted that Mappila dialect of Malayalam is not Arabi Malayalam.
-Malayalam blend in Manipravalam
. Kerala has a unique tradition of literature written in Arabic-Malayalam blend.The great bulk of these are verses with predominantly religious themes. As with Sanskrit-Malayalam blend in Manipravalam which was written in Malayalam script
,the Arabic-Malayalam blend was written in Arabic script modified to absorb the peculiar sounds of Malayalam.
As large numbers of Arabic words did not pass into the general and the literary usage, this tradition rather came to an abrupt stop.
Mappila Malayalam has deviated significantly from general Malayalam by incorporating many Arabic loanwords. This may be explained by the historical fact that Arabic was the language of commerce on the Kerala coast. Even the Portuguese made use of Arabic-speaking interpreters for their trade in Kerala Today Arabic borrowings endure in various spheres of Kerala life, including literature. Mappila Malayalam has the status of a literary dialect.
in the 16th century. The Kunjalis, who were the admirals of Zamorin (Samoothiri) were in forefront of the resistance. They were so beloved to Zamorin that the rulers encouraged one or more male members from families of Hindu fishermen being brought up as Muslims. The dialect spoken here is orthodox in nature as Arabic words are borrowed in high proportion. The dialect spoken in Kannur is to an extent devoid of Arabic words and the influence of Hindu culture is strongly felt. In Kasaragod, the dialect is influenced by Tulu
, Arabic and Urdu
and in Malappuram, Palghat and Trichur there is no influence from the Arabic language.
Mappila
Mappila or Moplah refers to a Muslim community of Kerala, primarily in the northern region called Malabar, which arose in Malabar as a result of the pre and post Islamic Arab contacts. Significant numbers of the community are also present in the southern districts of Karnataka and western parts of...
Muslim community of Kerala state, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is called Mappila dialect of Malayalam or simply as Mappila Malayalam (Malayalam script
Malayalam script
The Malayalam script is a Brahmic script used commonly to write the Malayalam language—which is the principal language of the Indian state of Kerala, spoken by 36 million people in the world. Like many other Indic scripts, it is an abugida, or a writing system that is partially “alphabetic” and...
: മാപ്പിള മലയാളം). This speech is a mixture of colloquial northern Kerala dialects of Malayalam and the Arabic language.
Often, the Malayalee Muslim community of Malaysia and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and few of them in Kerala write Malayalam using Arabic Script.
Arabi Malayalam
Arabi Malayalam is a system of writing Malayalam language language in a variant form of Arabic script.It is a blend of Malayalam grammatical base, Arabic script with special orthographic features, and vocabulary from Malayalam , Arabic, Tamil, Urdu and Persian...
The dialect is extensively spoken by Muslims in the North Malabar
North Malabar
North Malabar , is a historic as well as geographic distinction in India used to refer the area covering; present Kasaragod and Kannur Districts, Mananthavady taluk of Wayanad District and Koyilandy & Vatakara taluks of Kozhikode District in modern Kerala and the entire Mahé sub-Division of...
region of Kerala i.e. in the districts of Malappuram
Malappuram
Malappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
, Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, Palghat, Wayanad, Trichur, Kannur
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
and Kasaragod
Kasaragod district
Kasaragod District is one of the districts of the Indian state of Kerala. Kasaragod District was organised as a separate district on 24 May 1984...
. The Malayalam spoken by Mappila Muslim shows deep influence of the Arabic language. Thus the dialect is a little bit different from the mainstream Malayalam. Also, Muslim communities of Dakshina Kannada
Dakshina Kannada
- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...
district of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
called Beary
Beary
The Beary is a small Muslim community concentrated mostly in coastal South Kanara , in the district of Karnataka, a south Indian state. It is an ethnic society, having its own unique traditions and distinct cultural identity...
s also speak Mappila Malayalam.
It should also be noted that Mappila dialect of Malayalam is not Arabi Malayalam.
Arabic influence
The Mappila dialect of Malayalam has borrowed loan words from Arabic language. In fact this dialect can just be considered as Arabic-Malayalam blend just like SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
-Malayalam blend in Manipravalam
Manipravalam
Manipravalam was a literary style used in medieval liturgical texts in South India, which used an admixture of Tamil and Sanskrit. Manipravalam is termed a mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil...
. Kerala has a unique tradition of literature written in Arabic-Malayalam blend.The great bulk of these are verses with predominantly religious themes. As with Sanskrit-Malayalam blend in Manipravalam which was written in Malayalam script
Malayalam script
The Malayalam script is a Brahmic script used commonly to write the Malayalam language—which is the principal language of the Indian state of Kerala, spoken by 36 million people in the world. Like many other Indic scripts, it is an abugida, or a writing system that is partially “alphabetic” and...
,the Arabic-Malayalam blend was written in Arabic script modified to absorb the peculiar sounds of Malayalam.
As large numbers of Arabic words did not pass into the general and the literary usage, this tradition rather came to an abrupt stop.
Mappila Malayalam has deviated significantly from general Malayalam by incorporating many Arabic loanwords. This may be explained by the historical fact that Arabic was the language of commerce on the Kerala coast. Even the Portuguese made use of Arabic-speaking interpreters for their trade in Kerala Today Arabic borrowings endure in various spheres of Kerala life, including literature. Mappila Malayalam has the status of a literary dialect.
Spoken regions
Mappila dialect of Malayalam is predominantly spoken in the north Malabar region of Kerala than its southern parts. It is widely spoken in the district of Malappuram, Kozhikode (Calicut), Kannur (Cannanore) and Kasaragod and the northern region of Trichur district known as Chavakkad. The majority of the Muslim population in Kerala live in the districts of Malappuram and Kozhikode. There is a reason for this. Muslims of Malabar played important role in resisting the invasion of PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in the 16th century. The Kunjalis, who were the admirals of Zamorin (Samoothiri) were in forefront of the resistance. They were so beloved to Zamorin that the rulers encouraged one or more male members from families of Hindu fishermen being brought up as Muslims. The dialect spoken here is orthodox in nature as Arabic words are borrowed in high proportion. The dialect spoken in Kannur is to an extent devoid of Arabic words and the influence of Hindu culture is strongly felt. In Kasaragod, the dialect is influenced by Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
, Arabic and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and in Malappuram, Palghat and Trichur there is no influence from the Arabic language.